Will Proxy Access Be Here Soon?

Yesterday I attended a Directors' Roundtable program here in Cincinnati sponsored by the law firm KMK and others.  The program was excellent, with panels discussing developments in securities regulation, risk management and D&O insurance.  What I found particularly interesting were comments by one speaker, Martin Dunn, a D.C. attorney and former SEC staff member, on the SEC's Proxy Access Proposal.  The comment period has just ended (and why, Dunn wonders, does the comment period end in the middle of August, when no one is in D.C.?), and he was surprised that only about 150 comments were filed, running 2 to 1 in favor of the proposal.  He senses that the consensus view is that it is "a done deal." 

Has the controversy over proxy access really died down?  Given the prolonged history of proxy access proposals at the SEC, it's like a fantasy to imagine one in place.  Let's wait and see.